The Fox
by NanohaFate1
Summary: A re-write of the Shapeshifter series. Hope you enjoy! (Btw: If there is a sequel, try searching for The Eagle. Don't think it'll be coming out soon though!) HOPE YOU ENJOY! COMMENTS APPRECIATED Sorry if it's not good. I'm not very experienced at this. I don't mind haters as long as you can give me help advice, then I hope I can make the series better so that you can enjoy it. -NF
1. Chapter 1

The Shapeshifter

Book 1

The Fox

Chapter 1

I stared around the bush, trying to locate the earthworms. For a daughter of the wealthiest family in Manhattan, I was sure dirty.

"Lucy?" My stepmom, Beth, yelled. "I'm going to bring Alicia into town. And when we get back, the garden had better be free of weeds!"

"Can't you get the gardener, Ilicia or Benjamin to do it?" I said, exasperated.

"NO I CAN'T AND YOU KNOW_ WHY_?" Beth bellowed.

"Why?" I asked in a small voice.

"Alicia, Ilicia and Benjamin are _my_ children. And _you're_ the odd-one-out here. SO don't complain, because I've already given you a home. Your father, Jude, wouldn't even think twice if I told him to leave on the roads. Do you know how many people there are? How many _children_ living on the roads? You could become one of them, very soon, if you don't listen to me," Beth said. I didn't try to point out that while I donated loads of my pocket money ( which was basically all my mother's fortune ) to the road-side people, they didn't give a damn about it. By 'they' I mean Beth, Ilicia, Benjamin, and my father.

Alicia grimaced. I was so grateful for her. She was the only Wildarts that didn't hate me. Jude Wildarts, Beth Wildarts, Ilicia Wildarts, Benjamin Wildarts, and her. I didn't change my name to Wildarts, simply because _right_ before my mother died, I could hear her and my dad arguing. My dad had apparently been going out with some women. And _right_ after my mother died, Dad had married Beth. It was like Dad didn't _love_ Mom.

"One day I'll rule the family and I'll make them all work – except Mom and Ben, of course – and I'll make sure that you're comfy," Alicia promised. I smiled appreciatively, but I didn't think that dream was realistic. For example, Beth _hated_ Alicia. She didn't treat Alicia as badly as me only because Alicia was her blood and bone. Beth favoured Ilicia, Alicia's older sister. Honestly, Ilicia was such a stuck-up person! Then again, nobody liked to communicate with me, except Alicia. In this household, I was sorta the outcast, except that I had been here before any of my stepmother or siblings.

The Wildarts family looked _so_ different from the Heartfilia family. First of all, my mother, Layla, has long blonde hair and soft brown eyes. I'm almost the splitting image of her, except that I have darker eyes and straight hair streaked with aquamarine ( an awesome colour ) and purple ( lavender actually, and an awesome colour too ), while Mom's is wavy.

The 'Wildarts Look' determines the heir, so it means I'm already out. Dad has short, neat black hair, and stony black eyes. His features were handsome but stern, and I never liked him. Beth has long, curly red hair, with streaks of bright pink. Her face is young and beautiful, but not kind like Mom's. Besides, her face is almost constantly in an ugly frown or sneer. Next up is Ilicia, the oldest among the Wildarts children. Ilicia takes more to Beth, with neat, curly pink hair, streaked by black, and pinkish-blue eyes. Her face is cold and devoid of any emotion, unless it's disgust or a show-off kind of glow.

Benjamin Wildarts has shoulder-length red-black hair, which he ties in a short ponytail. He usually wears sneakers, designer pants and a sweater, which kind of gives him an 'I'm awesome so you should admire me' kind of look, but Ben's really kind. Benjamin's face has the lines of handsomeness, and he doesn't look the tiniest bit stern or strict. In fact, his eyes are a very glittery amber.

Alicia is albino. She has beautiful waist-length straight white hair and kind, soft pinkish eyes, tinged with light lavender. But Alicia isn't normal Albino. Her eyes swirl light lavender when she's feeling medium emotions, and go completely, bonkers, lavender when she's feeling strong emotions, such as anger. I always joke around with her whenever she's lavender-eyed around Davéd Aashwhélé [ Day-vid / Day-ved Aash-well ], teasing that she likes Davéd. Her face is also kind and full of laughter. If I had to guess who would become the Wildarts heir, I would have to say, Ilicia.

"See you!" Beth yelled angrily. I trudged off to the garden. Oh, I knew better than to think that Beth was kidding. I tried asking the gardener, Jacky Williams, to do it, but he didn't want to.

I went into the barn. Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Oh no! It was probably locked! I tried pushing against the door but I couldn't. Panic began building up in me. I was thirsty and hungry. So thirsty and so hungry! My vision became tinged red and my breath quickened. As a sharp burst of pain sent me shaking, I turned over and found that now, I was a fox.

I didn't yell. Nope. I wasn't a tiniest bit surprised. All I could think of at that moment was water, and food.

My whiskers touched the hole at the side of the shed. They fitted just nicely. Partly as an instinct, and party because I had read about it before, I knew that my whiskers were a measurement of whether I would fit in something – or not. Sure enough, I slipped through the hole easily. I let my nose take over as it sniffed for the fresh smell of water.

Ah! There! I ran to the stream, and began lapping at the water. Oh, it was heaven. Sweet juicy liquid streamed between my mouth and I whistled ( if a fox could whistle ) in appreciation.

I spotted a bird nearby. Falcon, I think. I stalked it eagerly, careful not to make any noise.

And finally, I scooped up the falcon in my jar. The human part of me screamed, _NO!_, but the fox part screamed, _YES!_, and you know what? The animal part won over the girl part.

I chewed for a while and then swallowed. Now that I was full … I wanted to sleep. I went back to the Wildarts garden. Finding a comfy-looking bush, I went in, and spikes poked me in the fur. I yelped ( in my mind ), as I realised that it was a thistle bush. I immediately ran out.

Settling for a bougainvillea bush, I snuggled down, dimly aware of some worms underneath me, as sleep overtook me.


	2. Chapter 2

The Shapeshifter

Book 1

The Fox

Chapter 2

I woke up as a human. Or rather, Lucy the girl-who-was-the-fox-but-not-now. Panic overtook me as I stared at the clocks on my hand. It was five o'clock and Beth and Alicia would be coming back anytime now, and I hadn't picked a single weed! To convince them that I couldn't, I had to get back into the shed.

I ran to the shed, noticing the crack which I'd struggled through as a fox. Oh no! It wouldn't be big enough for me to squeeze in! Just then, I heard Beth's car pulling up. Groaning, I leapt, and to my surprise, landed squarely inside the shed. I dusted some grass off me and huddled in a corner, putting on a miserable look on my face, as if I'd been shut in the shed for a long time.

Just in time. I heard Beth's enormous feet trampling around the garden, yelling, "LUCY HEARTFILIA! WHERE ARE YOU? NOT A SINGLE WEED IS PLUCKED!"

"I'm here, Be – Mom!" I shouted. "The shed!"

I heard Beth swearing under her breath, finally unlocking the shed doors. She glared at me angrily.

"And why, _miss_, are you here? Not in the garden pulling out all the weeds?"

"Mom, maybe – maybe she got stuck or something," Alicia stuttered.

"Yeah, Alicia's correct. The wind slammed the shed door shut."

"Even so, you could've called out to Jacky Williams, Benjamin or Ilicia," Beth argued.

"I didn't because do you think they can hear from the house?" I pointed to the mansion at least half a kilo away. Yes, that _was_ how big our house was.

Beth looked stumped. "Okay, then," she replied, with a tone of suspicion. Then she stalked off, Alicia giving me an apologetic look. I followed after them, glaring holes into Beth's head. I knew that Beth couldn't feel it because she was smiling. Weird, because _Alicia_ noticed it. She turned back and gave me a grin.

That night, we had chicken takeaway. It was delicious, but Beth didn't give me a lot. I went to bed with a half-full stomach, but Alicia came up a few minutes later with her share of chicken. I stared at her in surprise.

"_Alicia_?" I exclaimed. "You aren't going to eat it? But it's delicious!"

"I have too much, really," Alicia replied, blushing. "Plus I'm not even hungry. So here's the chicken for you."

Although I knew Alicia was lying ( and she knew that I knew that she was lying because she's sensitive like that ), I decided to accept the chicken, because it would hurt her feelings if I didn't. I patted the carpet in my room ( which was the size of a storeroom ). "Sit, Alicia," I said. "Why don't you and I eat half each? That way neither of us will be hungry."

"I suppose that's okay," Alicia answered. She quietly sat down next to me, leaning on my bed.

"I wonder why Mom treats you so badly?" she wondered aloud.

"No surprise," I said. "After all, I'm Dad's child with another woman."

"Yes, b-but, Mom shouldn't be so bad!" Alicia protested.

I looked at Alicia strangely. "You're the only Wildarts that thinks so, except maybe Benjamin, but thanks."

Alicia smiled warmly at me. "Let's go to the balcony," she said. "I know a nice place."

So I let Alicia lead me to the balcony. Together, we stared out at a night full of stars. It was beautiful.

Alicia pointed to a constellation. "See that, Lucy? That looks like Gemini. The Twins. And that is Taurus."

I apologised, saying that I didn't really learn constellations. Alicia wasn't surprised one bit. "Remembering constellations take a lot of work," she said. "I'm not surprised that you don't remember them. After all, you're more like an action person than a sit-and-memorise person." I grinned at her.

We fell asleep unknowingly, but in the morning I saw Benjamin looking at us. 'You're in trouble' was his only statement. Alicia blushed. She looked very worried. "Mom's probably going to scold you," she said.

"What about you? She's not going to punish you?" I asked. "Not that I want her to," I added quickly, seeing the hurt look on Alicia's face.

"Well, no," she replied. "She doesn't punish Wildarts. I hate the way she shows favouritism. We're all equals, Lucy."

I commented that her mom could learn from her, before stalking off to the dining room. Sure enough, I found Beth elegantly eating her omelette breakfast, not looking worried in the least. I found that infuriating. Didn't she worry about Alicia, never mind me? How much of a cold-blooded creature was she? Fury boiled inside me and my vision turned red again. No! Not now! I suspected that I had a very high chance of turning into a fox then, and it was the last thing I wanted to do, because Beth would probably report me and send me to some asylum or junior school. It was the perfect opportunity she was waiting for. I zoned out as Beth chided about going out alone, and acting caring and all that, because I knew that it was _fake_.

"Anyway, you may go to school now," she concluded.

I went to my room, put on my school uniform, and carried my bag. I go to St. Mark's Academy together with the Wildarts children. It was the only luxury I got, because the food they served there … it was heaven. And you should see the St. Mark's uniform. The girl's one consists of a yellow short-sleeved t-shirt, and a blue singlet over it. There was also a skirt ( whichever length you want ), a pink skirt collared by bright blue, which was really nice. The boy's uniform has a yellow long-sleeved t-shirt, and no singlet please. It would be revolting. Their pants were long, and absolutely not pink. It was actually grey instead, also lined with bright blue. You could also wear the optional blue and green hat or tie if you wanted to.

"Ilicia and Benjamin's already left," Beth called out as I stormed into my room.

A few minutes later, I and Alicia were walking towards St. Mark's Academy. We separated as we started our classes, because we had different schedules.

"Hey, Lucy," Levy McGarden, my best friend in my class, greeted me.

"Hey, Levy," I replied. Levy had short spiky blue hair and was really smart. However, the two school bullies, Mark Sprik, and Dax Jones, liked to pick on her. I was usually the one who prevented Mark and Dax from shoving Levy's head into the toilet and flushing it, or them hitting Levy. The result? I got tons of scars from fighting with them.

"It's my fight," Levy usually said. "This is school life for me. Don't worry, you don't have to fight Mark and Dax for me. I just have to get over it." I really liked Levy because she was kind and smart and didn't look down on me, unlike the other students who were always sneering, _Oh! It's that Wildarts outcast_, or _Hey, it's the Heartfilia person_.

"I would like to commend Levy for the working paper clock that she made," our teacher, Ms. Mazie, said. Ms. Mazie doted on Levy and me. She was also my favourite teacher. "Levy, go and bring the paper clock to Mr. Zachi."

The recess bell rang. Everyone poured out of the classroom but I knew that Mark and Dax were following Levy. I got stuck in the crowd, but, I smelled Mark, Dax and Levy really strongly. Fear was coming out from Levy, and Mark and Dax were radiating violence and menace. I had to get to Levy quickly.

Following my senses, I somehow ended up at the basement. I hid behind a block of wood and saw Mark and Dax cornering Levy.

"Well, well, there's our favourite girl, skipping off to Mr. Zachi, huh?" Mark sneered. "Looking for a little prize?"

"Give it back!" Levy shouted bravely.

"Oh, you mean this?" Dax asked innocently. He threw the paper clock onto the ground and crumpled it, snickering at Levy.

In that instant, tears poured from Levy's eyes and my vision instantly became red. I felt myself shifting … and sure enough, after a while, I raised my tail, and welcomed the fact that Lucy the Fox was back.

Just as Mark was about to hit Levy, I jumped out and snarled.

"Oh, a wild animal wants to protect you, Levy!" Dax exclaimed. "How touching! Then we shall eliminate it first!"

I howled, a shrill sound that surprised even me. The scream emanated from my throat, and I lunged at Dax. My sharp claws raked his cheek and soon I realised that I wasn't the only one shouting. As I clawed and bit and kicked, Mark and Dax looked horrified. They had multiple scars and were bleeding profusely. Mark tried to push me away, but with no avail. I snarled in triumph and circled around Levy. I'm not sure what the boys saw, but it must've been terrible.

I chased Mark and Dax out of the basement, howling for their mommies. Then when they were far off, I went back to check on Levy. From a distance, I saw that she was okay. Then, I quickly went into a bush and slept.

When I woke up, I was a girl again. I quickly walked into class. Ms. Mazie took one look at me and asked, "Where have you been, Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Lucy, didn't you say that you were sick?" Levy asked.

I sent a grateful look at her and said, "Yeah."

"Oh gods, what is wrong with this school today? Wild animal sightings, long-lasting nausea…" Ms Mazie shook her head in desperation. It was only then that I noticed that Mark and Dax weren't in class.

At the end of that day, I and Alicia and Ilicia and Benjamin went home. As we were about to have dinner that night, the doorbell rang.

"Who could it possibly be?" I grumbled, heading for the door, knowing that it was my duty to entertain any guests.

To my surprise, I saw a man with a beard outside. "Who are you?"

"I'm Owéné de Ulténé," he replied. "May I see Mrs. Wildarts?"

"She's in the dining room," I answered, leading him in.

I didn't listen to anything Owéné – weird name by the way – said to Beth. I just ate my dinner hungrily, because being a fox had really made me hungry.

It was only after we had all finished dinner that Beth walked in, beaming. "Mr. de Ulténé has already left," she said, smiling at me. Then I realised it couldn't be true. This was a dream, because, Beth, smiling at _me_? It just wasn't possible.

"Lucy, you're a genius! I'm going to send you to this school in California. It's called Mountain High Academy. It's a place for geniuses." Beth held my hands, giving them a big squeeze. "I'm so happy for you!" Then she went upstairs and helped me pack my bag.

I should have felt excited, but I felt dull instead. Leaving Alicia? And maybe being laughed at again? I couldn't deal with that. Not without Alicia.

As if sensing my thoughts, Alicia grasped my hand.

"You can do it, Lucy," she encouraged. "I can write letters to you. It'll be great! I only wish that I could go."

I gave her a brave smile, but I felt sadness at leaving this house, even if it treated me as an outsider. "I'll try to persuade them to let you come, Alicia."

"That isn't necessary. But thanks. Do you want me to stay with you again?"

"I don't think so, Alicia. If I'm going there, I need to practice staying by myself, right?"

"That's it, Lucy. That's the spirit."

That night, I slept soundly. But one strange thing – before I fell asleep, I had a strong scent of someone wishing me harm – real harm. And it was connected with the man who had come to our house.

_Owéné de Ulténé._


	3. Chapter 3

The Shapeshifter

Book 1

The Fox

Chapter 3

I woke up, groaning. Then I stared at the clock on my bedside cabinet. Gods, it was only 3! Why had I woken up? Then I remembered the feelings I had felt the last night. Owéné de Ulténé. What was wrong with that man? Why did he seem so menacing? His aura so black?

Somebody knocked on my door. I yelped. Could it be Owéné?

"Lucy, open up," a soft feminine voice said. Just like that, I knew that it was Alicia, not the stranger. I skipped to the door and opened it. Alicia's bright face looked back at me.

"Alicia, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Could you?" she replied.

"No … I just woke up, in fact. But why can't we sleep?"

Alicia put her hands in the air. Her face turned dreamy and I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. "The air is … the composition of air is wrong." Then she turned to stare at me, hard. "It has something to do with _you_, Lucy."

I freaked out. "No … I didn't … I didn't do anything," I stammered.

"Well, then perhaps it was someone you met," Alicia said, frowning.

A bulb went off inside me. "Oh yes! Owéné de Ulténé!" I exclaimed.

Alicia snarled. "_Do not mention that man's name_," she said in a raspy voice. Her pinkish eyes glowed serpent green and I stared at her, dumbfounded and scared. "_That man is the epitome of evil itself. Its incarnation. His very presence disrupts the environment, and oh, you dare to say his name! He should not be here. His life is unusual. His name is the meaning of evil itself in the old language. His heart his that of a devil's, similarly known as Grimoire Heart. He cannot be allowed to exist anymore. Destroy him, Lucy Riko Heartfilia!_" And with that, Alicia's voice and eyes turned back to normal.

I stood trembling, staring at her. "What did you just say?" I asked.

"Wasn't it … wasn't it 'Well, then perhaps it was someone you met'?"

"No … you don't remember? The way your eyes turned green and your voice turned raspy and you said something really creepy?"

Alicia shook her head. Well, that was _real_ terrifying. "Anyway," I said, "we should try to get some sleep." Alicia nodded, then went back to her room. I had a feeling that she would return, so I left the door open.

True to my instincts, Alicia returned three minutes later, carrying her pillow. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Inside this box?" I gestured at my room. Alicia grinned. "Very well." I gave her a gentlemanly bow and cleared some space for her on my bed. We slept beside each other, Alicia looking away, but I could feel her crying. But we slept pretty well for someone who'd just issued a prophecy and someone who'd just listened to that prophecy.

The next morning, I set off for school alone, since Alicia had a runny nose. I was whistling and predicting if Mark and Dax would be there and how they would feel when they saw my face, and if Levy would talk to me, when, out of the blue, a man grabbed my arm. I recognised him as Owéné, and fear and terror awakened inside me. I tried to wrestle my arm out of his, but he had an iron grip.

"What are you doing?" I yelled in horror. I looked around desperately, but we were alone.

Owéné held me still as another man came up behind him, dressed coolly in a green sweater and blue comfortable-looking worn jeans. He held a test tube in his hand, full of blue liquid. He and Owéné then put on masks, and only then did the new man uncover the test tube. A strange smell wafted to my nostrils, as I tried not to inhale, but I couldn't hold my breath. I breathed in a smell of fear, panic and anger. My vision tinged red.

"No… no, don't make me, I, I don't want to," I gasped out, weakly. I finally understood what they wanted to do.

The two men watched with looks of wonder on their faces. "I will never be old to this," the sweater-and-jeans man said. After a few minutes, I glanced back over my sleek red shoulder, and stared at them, hard, fixing them with a look that said, _This fox is going to tear you into shreds._

"Whoa, whoa, easy, girl," the new guy assured, putting his hands in front of him. I snorted. As if that would help. "My name is Luke Angelo. You can call me Mr Angelo, or Luke if you want. We aren't here to hurt you, Lucy." Luke held up the test tube. I snarled in disgust at the sight of it. To think that this people had a gas which could make me change against my will … it was a scary thought. _I will not be controlled by these people_, I said firmly to myself.

"We're from Tregarren College," Luke said. "The school where your stepmom agreed for you to go last night." I rolled my foxy eyes at him. _I'm not dumb._ "Well, anyway, what we didn't tell your stepmom was that Tregarren College was for Colas – Children of Limitless Ability. That means they have strange powers, powers like yours, though you're our only shapeshifter so far. It's the only place where you can learn to control your powers, and be safe. And after what happened yesterday, we can't let you go back to school. Do you want to come to our college?"

I nodded. It sounded interesting. Anyway, a break from Beth sounded pretty good.

"Well, then, have you packed your things?" Another nod. Luke grinned, and I decided then that I pretty much liked this guy. He looked about 7 years older than me … oh, I know what you're thinking, but it isn't like that. Besides, I didn't completely trust Owéné yet. Even though the menacious aura might be because of that blue liquid, he didn't feel like someone I would put my trust in. "Then we can pick you up now." Luke and Owéné brought me back to my house, where I snuck in first – after I shapeshifted back into a human with a little nap – and told Beth that I was feeling sick. I went to my room, anticipating the moment where Owéné and Luke came into the story.

Finally, I heard the doorbell ring, and Beth running to open the door. I heard her let out a gasp of delight. "Lucy, come down – and bring your things!" I immediately picked up my luggage, gave Alicia a hug, and ran down the stairs two at a time.

Beth hugged me and kissed me – on my cheek, thank gods – then sent me off with Luke and Owéné. "Be careful, dear!" she exclaimed.

Luke led me into their lorry. It read '_Tregarren College – Special Deliveries_' and looked really cool. I put on my seat belt, and prepared to stare at the scenery. Unfortunately, I had gotten so little sleep last night that I fell asleep right away.

About three hours later, Luke patted me awake. It was noon when I took my first step in the college. Everything was very posh and fanciful.

"Go to Level 2, Bunk Area 3, Room 1," Luke instructed. "You'll find a guide-book on your table. Read it."

Following his instructions, I found myself in a purple room, with one side dyed silver. I saw a guide-book on the table beside the bed that was beside the silver wall, and laughed happily. It was so lucky of me to get the silver one! I opened the guide-book, and started reading.

TREGARREN COLLEGE

1. DORMS, LEVELS, BUNK AREAS AND ROOMS

Where do you live? First, boys and girls are separated into two dorms: boys dorm and girls dorm. There are five levels in every dorm, and each level ( except the first level ) has 20 bunk areas. Each bunk area consists of five doors which leads to five different rooms. Each room has three beds. Each bunk area can support 15 people and is the place those 15 people can chat together. Each level can support 300 people, and one dorm can support 1200 people. However, there are only 78 female and 92 male students currently. And that includes you. Each level has a LEVEL GATHERING PLACE, LEGIP, where all the students from that level can sit together, and do anything they want. The two dorms are linked by a small dining room with glass doorways to both dorms.

2. COLA POWERS

So far, there are:

28 telekinetics

13 healers

20 mediums/clairvoyants

42 pyrokinetics

26 telepathics

40 glamourists/illusionists

1 shapeshifter

1 necromancer

Then it went on a load about school rules, blah, blah, blah, that I didn't bother to read. What really intrigued me was the fact that there was only 1 shapeshifter, me, and 1 necromancer. These 2 powers must be really rare.

I lay down my things, took a shower ( one bath room is connected to a room ), and dozed off.

Voices talking awoke me. A crowd of at least 10 students had gathered around my bed. I think they were discussing about what powers I might have.

"Do you think she's telekinetic, too?" a voice asked. "That would be great for you, wouldn't it, Erza?"

'Erza' replied, "She's probably a healer and pyrokinetic cross, a rare one, like you, Wendy."

'Wendy' retorted, "Don't drop that ball, Lisanna!" In that instant, I blinked my eyes open and tried to sit up. A football hid me smack in my face. "Oh!" I ran a hand over my face, groaning.

"Oh sorry!" a girl with shoulder-length white hair and sparkling blue eyes said. "I'm Lisanna Strauss. Telekinetic."

"Do you hit people in the face when they wake up?" I asked grumpily. The crowd had dissipated by now and only I, Erza, Wendy and Lisanna remained.

"I _told_ you not to do that, Lisanna!" a person with a voice that labelled her as 'Wendy' said. She has sky blue waist-length hair, and beautiful brown eyes. Her smile transfixed me just as much as Alicia's did, but hers held fire. "Sorry. I'm Wendy Marvell. A healer and pyrokinetic. A pyrokinetic is, if you don't know, someone who manipulates fire. And Lisanna there was just levitating a ball over your head. I told her she couldn't hold it, but she didn't listen. Again, sorry."

I smiled at her before my eyes flickered to the third girl. "And you are…?"

"Erza Scarlet," she replied. I could see how her name fitted her. She had warm, scarlet hair and soft brown eyes.

"The best telekinetic in Tregarren College," Wendy added.

"Smartest too," Lisanna chimed in. Erza blushed. "Shush, the two of you." Then she turned to me. "What's your power, um, and your name?"

"Lucy Heartfilia," I said. I didn't want to share my power.

Erza shrugged. "Sooner or later, it'll all get out."

I smiled and the three of us set off. "By the way," Lisanna said, "if you're wondering where I sleep, I sleep on top of Erza's bed. We've got a bunk bed." Oh yeah. I had noticed that one of the beds were a twin bed. "Why're you so special?" I asked curiously.

Erza tried not to smile. She answered modestly, "Well, Lisanna didn't want to leave our bunk, and she's powerful if she's angry. Anyway, it's past dinner time already. We're just going to get you your uniform."

Soon, we reached a shop in the Girl's Dorm that said '_Aunty Tricia's School Uniform_'. We went in, and, without taking my measurements, a tall blonde put a set of clothes in front of me. I could make out seven different coloured set of clothes.

"Pink is for Monday, Purple for Tuesday, Red for Wednesday, Green for Thursday, Orange for Friday, Blue for Saturday, and Yellow for Sunday," Aunty Tricia said.

The uniforms were the same, their only difference being their colour. They consisted of a short-sleeved shirt with buttons, stockings, a skirt, and a jacket. Altogether, I had seven shirts, seven stockings, seven skirts and seven jackets. Cool! I also had a pair of sneakers, coloured orange.

"The sneaker automatically changes colour," Aunty Tricia said. "It's to help you remember what colour to wear. And," she added, "since it's orange, you can tell that today's Friday." I grinned stupidly.

After running to the kitchen for a few snacks, the four of us went back to our room. On the way, I casually said, "Shapeshifter."

The other three girls stopped to stare at me. Wendy was the one to break the silence. "And they put you with _us_?" she gasped. Erza and Lisanna shrugged.

"Same thing with Natsu Dragneel," she said. "The necromancer."

"But he isn't _just_ the necromancer to you, is he?" Erza teased. They had gone back to normal, luckily.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Lisanna has a crush on Natsu," she explained. "And it's almost ten. We'd better sleep." But before we crashed, she handed me a watch. "Never lose that," Erza told me. "It's a Cola watch. Lets you see the time, but, finger-print activated, can also let you see messages from anyone, and you can also send messages to them. Besides, this thing can transform into a computer if you want it to. It can perform almost _any_ task."

I strapped my watch on, and activated it. One message was already there. My face flushed with excitement, I tapped the message. It read:

_**From: Luke Angelo**_

_**To: Lucy Heartfilia**_

_**Subject: Surprise**_

Hi Lucy,

I hope that you are coping well? Anyway, we – that is, I and the teachers – have made an awesome discovery! It involves you and it's a person. Anyway, _she_ is coming to Tregarren College tomorrow.

Look forward to the surprise!

Love,

Luke

P.S. Tomorrow, please wear your blue uniform. They clean themselves automatically too so you don't have to wash them. And right now it's autumn so bring your _blue_ jacket along. See ya!

I grinned. As much as I hated surprises, I looked forward to them. I had taken a shower already … so what to do now? The answer came right back to me. SLEEP!

I woke up the next day and found out what the surprise was. _She_ was in our room, and a twin bed had been installed on top of mine. It looked secure, so probably it had been done by the cutting-edge technology Tregarren College had.

And boy, was _she_ a _huge_ surprise.


End file.
